The cold marble of the Solmere Hotel’s grand lobby bit through Charlotte Vale’s thin tank top, but the sting on her scraped skin was nothing compared to the icy fury crystallizing in her chest.

Victoria Sterling, dressed in a sweeping ivory silk gown that cost more than an average family’s annual income, yanked Charlotte by her hair, throwing her toward the massive glass revolving doors. Victoria’s diamond rings glinted violently under the warm glow of the six-tier crystal chandeliers.

"Did you really think a filthy vagrant like you could wander into the Solmere Executive Suite unnoticed?" Victoria’s voice echoed across the vaulted ceiling, sharp and metallic. She turned to the crowd of oil tycoons, corrupt politicians, and high-society sycophants who stood in silence, sipping champagne. "Look at her! Trying to steal from my father’s hotel! Security!"

Two imposing security guards in dark suits rushed forward, stepping over the polished floor toward Charlotte.

Charlotte slowly wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of her lip with the back of her bruised hand. She didn't scream. She didn't beg. Instead, she pushed herself up into a kneeling position, her posture straightening with an unmistakable, regal grace that made Victoria freeze for a fraction of a second.

"Your father's hotel, Victoria?" Charlotte asked, her voice low, steady, and terrifyingly calm despite her disheveled appearance.

Victoria sneered, stepping closer, her expensive designer heels clicking against the stone. "My father, Harrison Sterling, is the Managing Director and majority shareholder of the Solmere Group. Which means I can have you thrown into a windowless cell for the rest of your pathetic life."

"Harrison Sterling owns thirty percent of the operational management entity," Charlotte corrected smoothly, rising to her full height. Though she wore simple denim and a plain grey tank top, her dark blue eyes held an authority that sent an involuntary shiver down the spine of the chief security officer standing behind Victoria. "And that management lease was subject to an annual review—which expired at midnight last night."

Victoria laughed, a high-pitched, mocking sound. "What are you talking about, you psycho? Drag her out! Now!"

"Touch her again, and you'll be arrested for high treason and corporate espionage," a heavy, gravelly voice thundered from the private executive elevators at the far end of the lobby.

The crowd parted instantly.

Walking briskly across the marble floor came Arthur Pendelton, the legendary senior legal counsel who had served the Vale family for forty years, flanked by eight federal marshals and four armed private security officers clad in tactical gear.

Victoria’s arrogance flickered. "Arthur? What is the meaning of this? Why are you bringing federal agents into our lobby?"

Arthur didn't even look at Victoria. He walked straight past her, stopped in front of Charlotte, and bowed his head in deep respect.

"We have secured the secondary vaults, Miss Vale," Arthur announced loudly enough for every whisper in the lobby to die instantly. "The original land deeds, the master corporate ledger, and your mother’s unedited living trust have been verified by the state Supreme Court."